


Two Minutes

by VKenBen



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/F, Girl!Hermann, girl!newt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-26
Updated: 2014-08-26
Packaged: 2018-02-14 14:41:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2195676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VKenBen/pseuds/VKenBen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hermine Gottlieb really isn't having a very fun week. Between breaking up with her long time girlfriend and the hassle of moving out she doesn't have time for whatever Tendo is planning nor outrageously attractive strangers that need to look where they're going when running on the sidewalk, even if they do know how to speak German.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two Minutes

**Author's Note:**

> i had to use google translate on the german, there's not a lot don't worry.

“You did what?!” Tendo practically shouted in disbelief. The coffee shop went silent as patrons at tables nearby looked over.

Hermine scowled, “I broke up with Vanessa.”

Tendo slumped back in his chair.

Mako blinked.

Even the big, blond bimbo that Mako seemed to be dating now was taken aback and Hermine didn’t even remember his name.

Tendo’s mouth fell open, “You were together for a…a long time! Longer than I can remember.”

Hermine felt the beginnings of a head ache already over taking her, “Thank you for that brilliant insight Tendo, I wasn’t aware.”

Mako cut in, “I think what he’s trying to say is what happened?”

“As far as break up go it was rather uneventful. I simple told her I wished to stop seeing her. And then we talked for a while and in the end we decided to go our separate ways.”

Tendo frowned, “But why?”

Hermine hated Sunday coffee meet ups, if only for the fact that this was happening to her. She sighed, “I don’t really…I just.” Hermine set down her tea cup and stared into it as if the words that she was trying to find would appear there. “I guess I just realized that I wasn’t really in love her.”

The table had fallen silent.

“Damn,” Tendo said, “Sorry, man. Rough.”

Hermine scrunched up her face and glared across the table but kept quiet.

“Are you okay?” Mako asked breaking the tension.

“Yes, Mako I am fine,” Hermine responded testily.

“Is she okay?”

“I assume that Vanessa is alright. It was rather a shock…for the both of us really,” Hermine trailed off. Remembering her own actions felt like analyzing a dream, something that had made so much sense at the time but now looking back seemed unrelatable. It had been a typical Sunday night for the two of them. They ordered take out, they had been cuddling on the couch. It had all been horrible domestic. And suddenly Hermine didn’t think she could take it anymore, as if she didn’t move now she would explode. Hermine was wondering when exactly she stopped enjoying being domestic with the woman she was supposedly in love with and started feeling crushed by the idea that she was going to spend of the rest of her life with a women she was apparently not in love with. But here she was, sitting at Sunday coffee, single for the first time in 2 years.

Maybe she was experiencing some sort of weird midlife crisis...but in college.

“Jeez, sorry Hermine, that sucks,” Tendo offered.

“Indeed. In all honest I was simply wondering if any of you could help me move my stuff from our…her apartment tomorrow.” Vanessa had tried to insist that they work it out. Hermine was pretty sure another long conversation about their mutual feels or lack thereof would do any good.

Tendo nodded sympathetically, “Of course Herms.”

Mako reached over to take Hermine’s hand in her own. Hermine really didn’t want the pity but accepted the gesture anyway.

Just then Tendo’s phone vibrated violently against the table top. He smiled reading the message then looked over at Mako’s boy toy, “Hey so that chick you got into the fight with over Godzilla movies last night, she’s heading over.” Tendo seemed delighted by the idea, the man he was talking to however did not. “But don’t worry man,” he continued, “She promised not to bring it up again.”

“Who is this again,” Mako interjected.

“Come on! Newt?” Mako seemed nonplused but Tendo shrugged it off. “Don’t worry you’ll know her when you see her. She’s a bit hard to forget,” He chuckled to himself, as if he was telling a joke that only he knew the punch line too.

Tendo’s phone buzzed again.

“Alright, well,” Hermine cut in, “I’m going to get going. I have undergrad papers to look at for tomorrow.” She picked up her cane from where it had been propped up against the table.

“Ah, you’re not going to stay? You’ll love Newt!”

Hermine narrowed her eyes, “Something about how you say that assures me of the exact opposite, Mr. Choi.”

Tendo chuckled, “Whatever man. What time do you want us at your old place?”

“Vanessa has classes from one to four so I suppose that would be best.”

Mako smiled sympathetically, “We’ll be there. If you need anyone to talk too…”

“Thank you Mako.”

“Oh and Hermie,” Tendo piped up, “Can I bring Newt?”

“Tendo, must you?”

“The more the merrier right? Plus if you let me bring her it’ll go faster.”

Hermine sighed hoisting her parka up over her boney shoulders. Tendo did have a point, really anything to reduce the time she had to spend packing her belongs, “If you insist.”

Tendo pumped his fist in victory.

Hermine gave one last wave to the table before making for the exit.

Mako leaned over the table the moment Hermine was out of ear shot, “What are you up to, Tendo?”

Tendo held up his hands in mock innocence, “Me? Planning? I think my personality has been severally misjudged.”

Raleigh finally spoke up, “You’re thinking about setting them up aren’t you?”

Mako blinked.

Tendo smiled, “You’re sharper then you look, my friend.”

“I don’t see how you can possible think they’d even stand to be in the same room as each other,” Raleigh commented, “I mean Hermine’s a bit high strung and last night Newt managed a keg stand for half a minute then she almost punched me when I told her I though the Godzilla remake was better than the original movie series, so I don’t see how they’re even slightly compatible.”

“Not to mention Hermine just got out of a major relationship!” Mako complained.

“Come on, Hermine doesn’t have to marry her. It might just be a good thing for Hermieto have an influence like that in her life. Plus they are absolutely perfect for each other. They both like science and…Other things I’m sure.”

Raleigh laughed, “Give them two minutes in the same room together and I’m pretty sure one of them will end up dead.”

Tendo smiled wide, “How much do you want to bet?”

* * *

 

Hermine hated the cold. She hated that it made her face numb. She hated that she had to bundle up every time she left the house. And she especially hated that cold meant ice and ice meant that the ground was very slippery. On top of all that Hermine wasn’t having that good of a day already as she carefully made her way back to where she was now staying.

Only to have someone barrel into her not a block away from the coffee shop.

Hermine would have screamed if she hadn’t landed flat on her ass quiet painfully. Books scattered everywhere as suddenly a very high pitched voice cut through the clamor of early traffic, “Oh my god, oh my god. I am so sorry!”

“Well really you should be! It wasn’t as if I came out of nowhere!-” Hermine cut herself off as she came face to face with a pair of pouting lips and thick framed glasses hiding a pair of worried green eyes. Hermine would not have described her type as atrociously adorable freckles and messy brown hair but suddenly she found it hard to breathe.

“You’re completely right! Here let me help you up,” The other girl said, pulling Hermine to her feet and handing over her cane, “I’m sorry dude, I don’t usually…run into people.” She leaned down to retrieve some of the books she had been carrying from where they had scattered across the sidewalk.

“Yes well not many people do,” Hermine felt rooted to the spot. Even with the dull knowledge that social etiquette dictate that she should probably just walk away at this point.

The other girl had straightened, her arms heavy, “Yeah well I’m starting the new trend. Sorry again, I was just on my way to meet up with some-”

“What are you reading?” Hermine blurted out.

The girl’s mouth opened slightly before smiling in a way that made Hermine’s heart flip, “Nothing just…Biology stuff.” Hermine hoped she was blushing and it wasn’t just the cold making the girl’s cheeks turn a rosy pink.

“May I?” Hermine asked.

“Go ahead,” the girl answered shifting the books so that Hermine could take a look.

“Pretty advanced biology stuff by the looks of it,” Hermine took the first book from the top of the pile and flipped through the pages.

“I don’t want to blow my own horn but I’m pretty smart.”

Cocky. Hermine wasn’t sure why that trait suddenly seemed endearing. “Well it is one of the softer sciences,” Hermine muttered before she could stop herself.

The girl pulled a face but let out a genuine laugh, “Really, well then I’ll just have to burn my bachelors and get a job as a janitor.”

“It would seem so. Really you should have studied physics,” Hermine continued to pick books out of her arms, if only to prevent the stranger from going on her way without getting her name, “Numbers are the closest we get to the hand writing of God.”

“What?” the girl snorted. Her face lit up when she was amused, it was all terribly attractive. Hermine couldn’t really blame her, if this was how rusting her flirting had gotten she was going to be alone for a very long time.

“You say that now but I beat you’ve never been elbow deep in something wet and squishy,” she winked and Hermine made a noise she didn’t know she could make.

Hermine pulled the next book in the pile only to find the title in German. She held it up, “You read German poetry?”

The girl laughed, “Nicht nur, dass ich es gelesen habe, ich spreche es auch.”

Hermine smiled, “Was für eine angenehme Überraschung, auch ich tun.”

There was that blush again. The girl blinked up at her through thick lashes and even thicker frames, “Hey by the way, I’m-”

A movie monster’s roar split the November air. The girl froze, “Oh my god, um that’s my phone, if you could?” She made a vague gesture to her coat pocket.

Still holding the book of poems, Hermine quickly retrieved her phone for her. “It’s a text,” she said holding the phone out, “From someone who’s in your contacts as computer bitch?”

The girl spluttered, “Ignore that it’s just a dumb joke.” quickly shifting the books to one arm before taking hold of the phone, “I’m supposed to meet up with him. Crap he’s wondering where I am, and I was late as it is. I gotta go! Sorry!” The girl gave an apologetic smile before running back off down the block just as recklessly as before.

Hermine registered too late that she still had one of her book. She flipped to the inside cover, hoping to find the name of its owner. A signature was printed there in the top right corner, it read, _‘N. Geiszler’_

* * *

 

Tendo called at ten that night, with the background roar of a party drowning out his words. “Gottlieb, you’ve got to get down here, you’re missing the time of your life,” Hermine made out over the noise.

Hermine sighed from the other side of the line, “Somehow I don’t believe that’s true. Besides I was working.” Hermine would have been more annoyed at the interruption if that had been true, instead she had been flipping through the book of poems, thinking with melodrama of strangers she would never meet again.

“Come on, you’re always working. When’s the last time you got out of the house?”

“This morning if I recall correctly.”

“Haha, very funny. Okay but you’re missing out on all the pretty girls.”

“Something tells me I’ll survive.”

“Newt’s down here,” Tendo said as if it was a real temptation.

Hermine sighed in frustration, “Mr. Choi I think you’re forgetting the fact that I don’t know Newt. And contrary to what you might think you’re attempt to set her up with me is neither subtle nor smooth.”

“Okay who told? Mako or Raleigh?”

Hermine let out a long suffering sigh.

“You’ve got to come down Hermine, have a little fun, sing a little karaoke, have a few drinks.”

“I’m hanging up now.”

The last thing she heard was Tendo’s loud booing.

Hermine set her phone back down slowly, her head full of strangers and freckles dotting unfamiliar faces like stars in the night sky. She had lingered on the same page for some time now, unwilling to stray from the section of love poems, though their words should be meaningless to her now.

Letting out a breath of air she didn’t know she was holding, Hermine set the book down and retreated into her makeshift bedroom. She could always blame it on the emotional stress.

* * *

 

Newt Geiszler collapsed on the sofa. She had been antsy ever since she had realized she had lost one of her books. Or maybe it was the fact that she had forgotten to get the name and phone number of the cute girl she had bumped into on her way to meet Tendo at the coffee shop, but the book gave her a good way out of admitting that she was a giant softie.

She should probably just cut her loses and go home. Never mind the fact that she had probably just simultaneously found and lost her dream girl. Tendo cut through the sea of people to get to where she was sitting. He smiled down at her, yelling over the roar, “Come on Newt they just set up the karaoke machine.”

Newt rose her hands in defeat, “Sorry dude, I’m not really in the mood.”

“What’s wrong, you’re always in the mood.”

Newt shrugged.

Tendo sat down next to her, “Seriously what’s up?”

“Nothing,” Newt defended, “I just…lost a book today.”

“Oh?”

“And then I met a really hot girl.”

“Oh!”

“But I didn’t get her name.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” Newt agreed sadly.

“Cheer up, rock star, there are plenty of fish in the sea.”

Newt forced a smile, “But it looks like I’m not getting my book back.” Newt extracted herself from the couch, “Sorry to bail on the party but I think I’m going to get going.”

Tendo’s face fell, “Really man, this early?”

“I guess I’m just tired.”

“We’re still on for tomorrow right? Helping my friend move?”

“I don’t know dude. I don’t even know this chick,” Newt complained. She felt like going home and sleeping for as long as physically possible. Today had not been the best and it probably wouldn’t hurt to put it all behind her.

“Come on you promised and Hermine needs the help. She’s been having a really bad week,” Tendo prompted.

“Really you’re trying to guilt trip me now?” Newt asked.

“I promise you won’t regret it,” Tendo moped.

“Fine, fine, pick me up at noon.”

* * *

 

There was something unbearably symbolic about unlocking the front door to the apartment she had lived in for years with the spare key they kept wedged in the door frame in case of emergencies. It felt like she was breaking in, leaving her twitchy and nervous. Whatever it was Hermine was frowning deeper than the Pacific Ocean. She checked her watch before busying herself with getting boxes ready to be brought downstairs. Trying to properly differentiate from her belongs and Vanessa’s, Hermine hummed to distract herself.

Mako and her boyfriend arrived fifteen minutes later and, after a few pleasantries, set to work bringing boxes out to the van. It wasn’t until one thirty when Mako and Hermine were busy packing up one of the book shelves that she asked, “Do you know what happened to Mr. Choi?”

Mako shook her head, “He was out rather late partying.”

Raleigh appeared in the doorway. “Let’s just pray he doesn’t get here,” he muttered.

Mako shot him a warning look.

Hermine raised an eyebrow, “And why would that be?”

Raleigh spluttered, “No reason just because…well. I don’t want to be in the crossfire when you meet Newton. No matter how much Tendo’s going to owe me.”

Instead of giving further explanation, Raleigh took that as his cue to leave.

Hermine turned to go back to packing when she heard the front door open and the unmistakable sound of Tendo’s laughter, “Raleigh my man, what’s up?”

“Bit late aren’t you Tendo,” Raleigh said good naturedly.

“Yeah, so I overslept, but I brought apology doughnuts!”

“Its 1:43.”

“What? Do you not like doughnuts?”

Hermine sighed, wondering if they would get any more work done now that Tendo had arrived. She made her way into the other room, only to stop dead in her tracks.

Standing in the kitchen studying the fruit basket was a familiar head of disheveled brown hair.

Tendo smiled wide when he saw her, “Hermie come here I need to introduce you to someone.”

Hermine stepped forward as Newton turned, she could feel her heart palpate. Newton’s jaw dropped a bit but the expression quickly melted into a smile. Hermine was pretty sure she had one to match.

Tendo gestured to them both even as the met each other in the living room, “Hermine this is Newton. Newton, Hermine.”

“Newton Geiszler, correct?” Hermine asked.

“The one and only.”

Tendo blinked, “You know each other?”

Newton shrugged, “It’s a long story.”

She turned back to Hermine, “I think you still have my book.”

Hermine knew it had been irrational to slip it into her purse this morning, but apparently she had been wrong. She reached for her bag from where she had thrown it on the sofa earlier. She held the book close to her chest, “Sorry about all of this.”

Newton’s grin had grown impossibly wide and equally self-assured.

“What,” Hermine asked with caution.

“Nothing, I just know how you can make it up too me.”

“Oh,” Hermine said, taking the bate, “And how is that?”

“Have dinner with me?”

Hermine smiled shyly, handing the book back, “I suppose that can be arranged.”

Newton looked positively ecstatic.

Tendo let out a tremendous shout of joy.

Raleigh’s jaw dropped.

Newton blinked, finally pulling her eyes away from Hermine, “What just happened?”

Raleigh sat down heavily at the kitchen counter. “What just happened,” Tendo answered, “Is Mr. Becket owes me forty bucks.”

**Author's Note:**

> so newt should be saying "I don't just read it, I speak it as well." to which hermine answers, "What a pleasant surprise, I do too." 
> 
> ah, my first fan work on ao3. my family would be proud. if anyone has any prompts or suggestions about this or really anything else, put them in the comments, i'd be glad to hear them. who knows if i'll do anything with them but muh, who knows?


End file.
